Skye Crawford (they/them) is a house-trained, 1,001 year old ghoul prone to biting anyone who gets too close, preferring the company of hellhounds, prehistoric beasts, and poisonous plants. If ever caught lurking outside of their California crypt it usually means they got lost trying to smell the roses and should be directed back into the nearest tomb. Their writing skills come from after years of realizing that grunting noises turn out to be a poor form of communication.
AUTHOR LINKS:
Website: skyecrawford.org
Threads: @00skyecrawford00
Publisher Page: deadfoxpub.com/products/twisted-souls
Amazon Page: a.co/d/069p0fZZ
GoodReads Page: goodreads.com/book/show/245544363-twisted-souls
Book Elevator Pitch for Readers/Book Clubs:
Twisted Souls is a dark, epic fantasy with queer romance that draws inspiration from Norse and Celtic mythology, featuring a tale of two men from the Unseelie Court driven to defy a world wrapped in darkness.
Let’s talk about your dark, epic fantasy with horror elements, Twisted Souls, out with Dead Fox Publishing. Can you share a bit about your publishing journey so far?
Twisted Souls is my debut novel. I was warned from those more experienced with the industry that because of the queer romance within it, I would have a lot of difficulty trying to get an agent, much less a big publisher interested, so would need to go solo if I wanted my book published.
I wanted to at least try the more traditional route though, so contacted over a hundred agents that I thought might be interested, had fast response times, or were known to more likely give authors feedback on their works even if it did end up rejected.
I received mostly generic rejections with no mention over why that was the case other than a “not a good fit at this time” along with a smattering of “if you write anything else, please feel free to contact us again!” In other words, not a single full request. Throughout all this I did revise my query letter multiple times just in case there was something wrong with that, eventually deciding that maybe I should look for more beta readers to make sure there wasn’t an issue with the quality of the story.
Another author (Hannah Graves) was also looking for more beta readers, so we exchanged books. She completed reading Twisted Souls within twenty-four hours and asked if I was interested in getting my book published through the publisher she worked for, even though up until then they specialized in only horror stories.
When Hannah and her wife decided to form their own publishing company, Dead Fox Publishing, I had my rights returned to then have Twisted Souls re-published under them.
It’s the first book in a series – what gave you the idea for the novel, and did you plan it to be a series, or did that grow organically as you started writing?
I was one of those kids that liked to play and read a lot about dark elves in Dungeons & Dragons, but as time went on realized I’d much rather do deep dives into the original myths involving evil fae.
I also always wanted to read more about characters that weren’t straight or didn’t fit gender norms, so then decided that since I can’t expect anyone else to write what it is I want, I might as well do it myself. Twisted Souls was always planned out as a series, the ending of which (in Book 3) was actually one of the first things I thought up. The Shattered Mirror Saga is about the long march towards that end.
When you were designing your world and the fae who inhabit it, what influenced your physical character and creature design, and how did you incorporate folklore and myth? Also, can you tell us about your language influences – did you do any conlanging for this series?
The worldbuilding and fae in Twisted Souls truly is a mix of Celtic and Norse. For example, the pitch black skin tone is a direct reference about dark elves from the Prose Edda (Norse), though there is some variance like “bruise-colored” that is a reference to The Cailleach (Celtic).
That each clan leader within Twisted Souls is feminine and sisters who go by names associated with the Queen of Winter is not a coincidence, either.
There actually isn’t much in the way of conlanging at all. The non-English words are either Scottish Gaelic, Old Irish, Old Norse, and one “town name” in Arabic (which the main character misinterprets though a reader more familiar with the language will get a clue to what was really meant). I wanted to use so many non-English words to help make it clear that these sidhe have been around for a while and weren’t above incorporating other words for their own use.
Introduce us to your main character, Valan. Where did the idea for his character come from, and how did he evolve as you started drafting and revising? Are there any elements of his character that surprised you as you drafted, or was he more or less fully formed in your mind when you began?
More or less fully formed. Valan was designed after the phrase “Appearances can be deceiving.” He’s the pretty boy that people don’t expect much from. The one least capable of great physical feats. He isn’t about to shout inspiring lines and wave around his weapon. All he really has is his mind and a goal that could be interpreted as heroic despite every effort on his part to hide it. I wish I could say more about this, but his character arc goes into spoiler territory. Let’s just say it is all-knowing.
What queer rep is there in Twisted Souls, and how did you develop the dynamics of the romance in this book?
While not outright said in the book, Valan is pansexual, Sorn is an unrealized nonbinary and demisexual, and Gwyn is a trans woman.
In a lot of romance books I’ve read, 90% of the page-space is spent leading up to becoming a couple by the end–I wanted to write a romance where that is merely the beginning. To show an established relationship between queer characters that while imperfect, can still be seen in a positive light. Not a side character or side plot. Something just as important as the adventure of the novel.
Valan’s twin sister is one of the villains/antagonists of this novel, can you introduce her and talk a bit about why you decided to have an ‘evil twin’ or dark mirror figure for Valan?
Isla is the personification of someone who had to spend her life constantly being compared to someone else and hating it. Hating it to the point of obsession. Who bullies due to her own insecurities despite elders constantly choosing her over Valan, but lacks the self-awareness to recognize why she feels that way. Basically, to provide a sharp contrast to Valan’s own doubts involving self-worth and self-sacrifice.
Can you share your favourite feedback or reader reactions for the book so far?
My favorite reaction was when someone said that they were so angry that the book ended (because they didn’t want it to end) that they wanted to “throw it at the wall.”
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